---
schema: 1
type: term
title: software agents
description: >-
  **Software agents** are programs that take action on your behalf: they use
  tools, make changes in systems, and consult rich, diverse information sources
  rather than merely answering questions. In this channel's captured material,
  they are the actors of the _agentic web_, and they are expected to talk to
  existing websites, APIs, and internal systems — ideally through a standard
  protocol.
canonical: >-
  https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/software-agents-ea59128f3328
markdown: >-
  https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/software-agents-ea59128f3328.md
llms: null
parent: 'https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt'
channel: everyinc
updated: '2026-10-23T22:12:35.346Z'
language: null
children: []
---


# software agents

Canonical: https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/software-agents-ea59128f3328

Parent: [Channel index](https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt)

## Definition

**Software agents** are programs that take action on your behalf: they use tools, make changes in systems, and consult rich, diverse information sources rather than merely answering questions. In this channel's captured material, they are the actors of the _agentic web_, and they are expected to talk to existing websites, APIs, and internal systems — ideally through a standard protocol.

In this channel's material, **software agents** appear in the context of the *agentic web*: a vision where agents do more than answer questions. As described in the conversation with Kevin Scott, a useful agent is one that must **take action on your behalf**, **use tools**, **make changes in systems**, and consult **rich and diverse information sources**.[^385ed583@0]For agents to act effectively, the material argues the ecosystem should look like the internet itself — a plumbed network where agents can talk to the websites and APIs that already exist. That is why the discussion ties software agents to a **standard protocol** (such as Model Context Protocol) so that internal systems can speak to every agent a company writes.[^385ed583@0]The material also links software agents to an experimental mindset: agents can *be curious*, try suggested tools and approaches, adopt what works, and discard what does not — echoing the stance of being curious and trying stuff.[^385ed583@0]- **Software agents act on your behalf** — they use tools and make changes in systems, not just answer questions.- They depend on an **internet-like ecosystem** of plumbed information sources and a **standard protocol** to reach existing websites and APIs.- An **experimental culture** — letting agents be curious — is part of how the material frames productive agent use.